Blood And Water
by Mistress Reigns
Summary: Bray Wyatt has his sights set on one of the new Divas to join the Wyatt Family, but she isn't exactly found of the three men who seem to be around every corner. But when she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the dark patriarch, will she be able to free herself or succumb to those pretty, pretty words?
1. Chapter One

_**There's A Fire Starting In My Heart**_

She reminds him of a doll who has stepped off of a shelf and come to life.

The golden ringlets framing her small round face, her large blue eyes, her small stature and the overall air of innocence that hangs around her wherever she goes. Even in the ring, when she takes down opponents who by no rights should have any trouble at all defeating her, she looks like a doll. Her ring gear is always in pale pastels and ruffled like baby doll dresses, all of this supposedly to accentuate how young she looks and how small she is. The fans eat it up; they think she's darling, but he sees through that charade without even having to try.

The warm smiles, the laughing eyes, even the way she plays with her curls during interviews? All of it is a sham. She uses it like clever cover to hide the darkness lurking at the very edges of her mind, no doubt restricting her truer self so the cameras never see. So the fans and her opponents never see. So many people underestimate her because they do not realize just how dangerous she is, how the mind of a predator lurks beneath the surface. They only realize it when it is too late, when her opponents stare up at her from their backs and she continues to win.

For whatever reason, the Authority seems to like her and they push her hard as a result of this; they risk revealing her dark secret to the world without even themselves knowing they are about to do it. She must be frustrated at the amount of screen time and interaction she must endure to do her job, but at the same time, he knows she secretly delights in each victory she obtains and, in the process, the pain she inflicts. Hard to miss the gleam of dark triumph in her eyes when she returns backstage, tossing her sweat-laden hair back behind her small shoulders. On the off chance she loses, she makes her opponent work for it far more than most wrestlers have to work in order to land a victory. This is yet another thing he has come to respect about her.

There are so many, but above all, her fearlessness is definitely at the top of the list.

He doesn't even see her coming. For that matter, he has no idea she is coming in the first place. His focus is entirely on Cena and not losing the match; he has to win, to further his cause and his message. But one moment, he is splayed on the mat, certain he's about to be put through Cena's finisher, and the next, a familiar voice is calling out to Cena far too close.

In retrospect, it probably is an accident. Cena isn't the kind of man to hurt a woman, much less knock her off of the apron and into the barricade, but in the process of getting her hands off of him, he does just that. The _smack_ of her back against the barricade is jarring to say the least, and he wastes no time in capitalizing on the distraction. Much as Cena never saw her coming, he doesn't see the kick or the Sister Abigail coming, either. As soon as he gets the pin, though, he leaves the ring to check on the little doll who unexpectedly showed up at ringside to aid him.

She's exactly where she fell, half-curled in a ball and biting her lower lip as one hand moves to her lower back where she must have struck the barricade. Even though the barricade is mostly padding, it's still rather rigid and more than hard enough to cause pain if it strikes certain parts of the body. Around them, the fans are screaming her name, telling her to get up because he's coming toward her, but she doesn't move. Just lifts her head, peering up at him with dazed eyes, her lashes fanning around her eyes like sunrays against her pale skin. When she does seem to reclaim a little of her conscious mind, she sits up rigidly and presses her back into the barricade, her breath coming a little harder and faster. But it's not fear. It's exhilaration. Anticipation.

Rowan and Harper are flanking him when he finally kneels down in front of her; he can feel the silent question from both of them, but he doesn't have an answer for it yet. Only she does, and her pretty little lips are pressed together so none of her secrets spill out. But he can see in her eyes that she wants to spill them, that she wants to tell him why she did this if only to share the information with _someone._ But he can also see uncertainty in those eyes, lingering even as he offers her a hand to pull her to her feet. Considering she just ensured he would win his match, why not extend the olive branch of peace and help her up?

Her muscles twitch, as if she means to lean forward and take his hand, but the wince that follows speaks for itself. She did hit hard; it's not surprising that even little movements are hurting, especially compounded with the fact that she hit her back, which means she will feel that pain no matter how she moves. And because she is genuinely injured, he makes the decision to slide an arm under the back of her knees, bracing the other against her uninjured upper back.

None of the other Divas would dare let him do this, get this close, but she only tenses momentarily before relaxing and allowing him to lift her off of the floor without risking hurting her worse. There are horrified faces staring back at him when he stands with her cradle against his chest, but she doesn't seem to pay attention to any of them. Behind him, he can feel Rowan and Harper shifting nervously, not sure how to take what they are seeing right now, how to interpret it and make sense of it. Right now, he doesn't know, either. Until he can sit down and talk to her properly, he is never going to know what is running through her pretty little mind. All he does know was that he wasn't informed that she was going to make an appearance at ringside, and if the look on Cena's face is anything to go by, he had no idea, either.

Going against the Authority that worked hard to put her over is a telltale risk, especially considering how quickly they can yank her off of the roster and send her back to NXT. But she did it anyway, curious little creature that she is. She found it in her to ignore the people who tell her how to act and, for once, gave into that darkness lurking inside of her. The question is, did she do it to aid him, or did she do it just because she could? He isn't sure yet. He hasn't had a chance to get to know her half as well as he would like, so he will have to sit back and wait.

"I can walk," she says as soon as they reach backstage, wriggling free of his hold.

He smirks and crosses his arms across his chest as he looks down at her, watching her rub the red mark blooming on the small of her back before she curses softly and looks up at him. Now, there is nothing but challenge in her gaze, daring him to question her actions and what they mean while promising he might not get an answer out of her even if he does ask. What a curious little girl she is. He knows they will have to have this talk at some point, because she needs to disclose her intent. Not for him; he will find out in due time based on the rest of her actions. She needs to let it out in words for her own good, and he will make sure she does just that for him.

"So," she says, narrowing her eyes up at him, "aren't you going to ask why I did that?"

He cocks his head at her, watching her face. "I could. But I choose not to ask."

She tilts her head slightly, eyes narrowing further as if she is trying to read him like he has been reading her for such a long time. Of course, she gets nowhere; he doesn't need a mask like Rowan's to hide his thoughts, and right now, he is choosing to do just that. Not to infuriate her, though he knows it will make her angry, but simply because turnabout is fair play.

"That's your business, then. I'm going to Medical." She turns on heel, preparing to walk away.

He doesn't let her get but a few steps away before catching her by the arm, the touch halting all of her movement and forcing her into an almost deadly stillness that makes him grin. Just like he thought. Her head turns, her eyes falling on where his hand is around her arm, before darting up to his face. Her dark brows furrow at him, telling him she is displeased by this course of action.

"You." The word comes out in a low snap, her arm tensing in his hold until he can feel her muscles just beneath the smooth pallor of her fair skin. "Need to let me go right now."

_Not a chance in hell, little girl._ He simply tugs her back the few steps she has gone, impressed when she rapidly backpedals instead of allowing him to make her stumble. Luckily, this part of the night was unexpected and so there are no cameras in their faces to capture this rapturous moment when the dark part of her begins to surface. The anger sparking in her eyes is a part of that darkness, and beyond Rowan and Harper, he is not sharing this with anyone else. Not yet. Maybe later, when she admits the truth and is no longer willing to hide for the public.

He smiles slowly at her. "I don't think that's what you want me to do."

"It's exactly what I want you to do. I need to go to Medical to check my back. Then I'm _leaving,_ so let me _go._" She tugs on her arm again, her eyes darkening to sapphire when he does not relent.

"No, sweetheart. You don't want me to give up that easy." He pulls her a little closer and her eyes widen but not in shock. In something indiscernible. "You don't give up that easy, either."

Now there is shock laced in with that emotion he can't quite name, and her fruitless struggling ceases as she stares up at him. "You've been watching me, haven't you? You have been."

He can lie to her if he chooses, and she might believe the lie—except he knows she won't even if she goes along with it and pretends to. She has caught on to him a little, and she is going to hold onto this little slice of information until she can figure out more. Clever little girl.

"Yes, I have been. That surprises you. Thousands to millions watch you every night. What is one more, really?" He smirks at her, and she presses her lips together in a thin line.

"You aren't like the others. I'm not that stupid." She gives her arm a lighter tug this time, and without regret, he lets her free. "I know what kind of watching you do. You don't scare me."

Had that little claim come from anyone else, he would have laughed it off because he knows it would be a lie. Most of the roster is terrified of him; he sees it in their eyes when he passes them in the hallway. But her eyes hold no lies or deceit, much less even the slightest trace of fear. No, this little girl isn't the least bit afraid of him and he has to smile at just how courageous she is.

He bends slightly so his eyes are on a level with hers. "I know you aren't, darling."

Her jaw clenches slightly before she leans closer, her face mere inches away from his and he has to give her credit because most people would never be able to hold eye contact with him, much less hold it half as efficiently as she is. But she isn't most people. She is something different, something just a little darker, a little more shadowed and waiting to simply burst from the cocoon she must keep herself in for the moment to gain momentum within the company.

"Then you should know your scare tactics won't work," she hisses, poking him in the chest.

"I don't plan on trying to scare you," he assures her, noting the way she leans back slightly, surveying him with uncertainty. "Scaring you away would negate keeping you around."

She scowls at him and flicks her hair back over her shoulder; he notes that had her back still hurt, the move would have caused her to wince. But it doesn't. "Why keep me around, Wyatt?"

"I do believe you're the one who walked into this." He smiles when she frowns up at him.

Keeping her around is a little more delicate of a procedure than he thought it would be when he first planned on this. She happens to be smart enough to not simply believe what she is told like so many of the other sheep now following the vultures. Instead of simply hearing pretty words and being wooed into a state of intrigue because of them, she keeps her distance and dissects them, discovering if the meaning behind them is sincere and her own meaning in the process. The fact she came to help him is proof she found something worth valuing, else she would simply have ignored him like so many of the others and went on her way. Abigail would have liked her very much. This is the kind of girl who seeks to watch the world burn as well.

"Well, I'm not even sure _why_ I walked into this so—" She stops and frowns at herself while he rejoices silently in the victory. One secret down. Countless others to go, but this is a start. "Look, I need to get to Medical and back on the bus. It's only a matter of time before Hunter—"

"Comes to punish you for doing what you thought was the right thing to do?" he finishes for her.

Her eyes widen slightly, and this time he sees a little more than just shock in them. "You can't know why I did what I did when I don't even know why I did it. So stop trying to guess."

"I simply made an educated guess about your motives." He taps her temple lightly with two fingers; she doesn't even flinch. "The answer is somewhere in this little head of yours."

"Well, I haven't found it yet. And I don't intend to go digging for it. It was a one-time thing. You won't see me at ringside for you again," she sneers, batting his hand away.

Interestingly enough, she actually believes those words. "I think I will. You might think not, but I think I'll see you again. Maybe not at ringside, but make no mistake. I will see you again."

She shakes her head up at him. "No, you won't. You can take care of yourself."

"And yet," he muses, "you felt the need to help me. To the point where you yourself were hurt."

"Not surprising. It's wrestling. People _will_ get hurt." She brushes it off carelessly and shrugs.

He hums softly in agreement. "But most people don't get hurt trying to ensure that I win."

"Well." She pauses, then smirks up at him. "I'm not exactly most people in case you missed it."

Oh, how could he ever have missed that? He's been thinking it since the moment he first laid eyes on her, and her actions tonight proved that she was not like the others. Considering her on their level is a dangerous thing to do, and he will make sure not to do so while others continue to make such a horrid mistake. When the dust settles, they will all realize what they have done.

She finally takes a step back, not for any reason but to lean her back against the concrete wall behind her as she looks up at him. Such a small, pretty little doll with such a big spirit. How she manages at all to contain herself here is beyond his understanding, but then he never tries to contain himself anymore. She is still doing what he stopped doing long ago, still holding onto some rigid control. Perhaps he can teach her just how fulfilling it is to let that control slip away.

"Why have you been watching me?" she asks, and the question catches him momentarily off-guard simply because he is not expecting it. Her eyes flash with knowing; she can see through him to an extent, then, which only deepens his interest in her. So few people see...

"Like you said, you aren't exactly most people. It made me wonder just what you were hiding behind your pretty face and your fake smile." At the words, she stiffens and he knows he's onto something. Might as well carry it through, then. "I see you, sweetheart. You can hide from the others, but I see right through you. You enjoy causing pain. You're dark."

She bites down on her lush lower lip. "You can't know that about me. You just can't."

"I think the lady doth protest too much." The reference only seems to inflame her further.

But amazingly, she reels it back in and straightens. "Maybe so. Maybe not. Either way, Bray Wyatt, you do not know me and you never will. I won't let you in that far."

"What makes you think I need an invitation before I search the corners of your mind for the truth?" He steps closer, and she doesn't falter or try to flinch away.

"Because there's only so much I let people see who don't know me well." She smirks up at him, actually reaches up to touch his cheek. "And I can lie better than you think. You'll see."

He shrugs and brushes his thumb over the delicate inside of her wrist. "I'll know when you do."

"You think you will. But you don't know me that well." And with that, she turns to go.

Now would not be a bad time to let her slip away, but he isn't quite ready for that. Instead, he clears his throat and watches as she turns around once again, looking up at him with curious, wide eyes. Ah, now it appears as though he has the upper hand between the two of them.

"The Wyatt Family is always accepting new members," he reminds her, watching her carefully kept-blank face. "New members who understand that this world is wicked and corrupt."

She cocks one dark brow at him. "I don't know what you've heard about me, Wyatt, but I'm not a sheep. You want followers. I don't follow. I might agree, but I don't follow anyone."

"I know you don't." He smirks when she twitches but keeps her face blank.

"Then why offer?" She turns to face him once again. "If you know I'm going to say no, that is."

He chuckles softly. "Who says you were going to say no? You haven't said it yet, have you?"

He watches her mentally backtrack over their conversation before she furrows her eyebrows at him. "Well, look at that. I guess I didn't come right out and tell you no, did I?"

"Maybe you want to think about it?" he offers.

"I don't follow, Bray." Funny how she's already switched from his surname to his first. "I can see why you do what you do, but I can't follow behind you like the others do."

He nods and steps closer to her once again, and this time she actually stops and allows him to step right in front of her. No moving away. No leaving. "You still haven't told me no."

"Tricky thing about no. It cuts off all possibilities," she muses.

"Which is why I suggest you think about it." He motions down the hallway. "While you walk."

She nods slowly before turning to go once again, and this time he lets her go. No use in keeping her here; she has things to think about, many things to think about, and his family is only one of them. She needs to think about why she did what she did and what it means for her, too.

Harper clears his throat, and Bray turns back, waiting for him to speak. "Do you think she will?"

"Join us?" Harper nods, and Bray smiles slowly before turning to see her turn the corner. "Yes."

Because she will. When she gets a chance to think about herself, about what joining them will mean for her and her life, then she will do it. It has nothing to do with being a sheep; Bray knows very well she will never wear one of the masks. She will insist on not being a follower, but she will join just the same. Not as a follower, but as a leader. He's convinced of it.

Because he knows her very well, and he knows she wants to do this as badly as he wants her to do this. She wants a cause, something to cling to. She will get to destroy all of those who stand in their path along the way; he will not refuse to let her do so. That would be unfair.

"She'll join us in due time when she's had time to think," he continues.

Harper looks uncertain. "She doesn't seem like the type to carry our message. Or care about it."

Oh, how to explain the conundrum that she happens to be? She craves the chance to stand out and do something that matters even as she continues to chain herself to this corporation.

"She is. She does. And she will join us," Bray assures Harper, patting him on the shoulder.

When he first saw her, he had his doubts. She seemed like the rest of them in the very beginning when she was plucked from the dark recesses of NXT and thrust into the spotlight, expected to perform to a standard she had not yet been expected to meet. Then she did it. Multiple times. And continues to do it with each and every match she is placed in. They tell her who to fight, and she does it. But she wants a reason, a faith to cling to that will fuel her need and desire to destroy those around her. That is where they come in. He already knows she agrees with his message; he sees it in her eyes when he passes her backstage, that momentary flash of respect. She wants to side with him, join his family. Why else risk injury and punishment to distract Cena? All she has to do is figure it out and everything will be just fine.

But she needs time to figure it out on her own. If he tries to push her toward the truth, she won't believe it quite as well as she will when she discovers it for herself. If he influences her at all, she will shrink away and claim he tried to influence her mind or push her in a different direction. He needs to sit back and let her figure things out for herself. Once she has had that chance, and when she realizes she aided him because she wants to and for no other reason, then she will come to him and join their family. Like all of the little lambs, she just needs time.

He waves for his boys to follow him and leaves the hallway, content enough with his first conversation with her. When she's ready to talk to him again, she will inevitably seek him out and confront him. Depending on what conclusion she comes to—whether a wrong one or the right one—will determine what direction the conversation heads toward. Though he has all the faith in the world that she will come to the correct conclusion and ally herself with them.

He has no doubt he will have to talk to Abigail about her sometime soon if only to assure himself that she is the right choice to join their family. Though he has made great strides in determining who is right for them and who is wrong, he is sure this time that he is entirely right.

She isn't anything like Daniel Bryan. She won't abandon them when they need her.

She will be there and stand by their side, stand with them when they go into the ring. She will stand by them when it's his time to speak and when it's their time to fight. She will fight with them if the situation allows for it as it did tonight. Given the chance, she will choose what is right and do what is right; she craves that whether she knows it or not, but soon, she will know it. She only looks like a doll, but anyone who gets close enough to look into her eyes will know just how ancient they are, how ancient _she_ is. No, not her. Her spirit, her essence. Her soul is eternal, and it must have seen something truly beautiful before settling into her body.

That something will bring her to them in one way or another.

All they have to do is bide their time, and bide their time they will. Harper and Rowan will wait for his signal no matter what, and he has an abundance of patience with which to wait for her to make her choice. Once she does, then they can effectively move on from there.

Until then, he will be waiting and watching her, determining which way she is leaning.

She can't go anywhere, not with her commitment to the company and her matches anyway, and she wouldn't walk out on those even if he did manage to rattle her. Her loyalty runs deep.

And it will be that very loyalty that assures she remains with them for as long as they need her.


	2. Chapter Two

_**The Scars Of Your Love Remind Me Of Us**_

Lila is trying very hard not to think about her decision last Monday night.

But for all of the effort she's put into not thinking, she's somehow stuck on the subject anyway.

It isn't like she has a thing for Bray Wyatt. Quite the contrary; the guy creeps her out to the nth degree and just being close to him in the hallway after the match gave her nightmares for the following three nights. Most of the other Divas tend to share her opinion; he's scary crazy, crazier than Dean Ambrose on a bad day, crazy enough to rival _Kane_ on a bad day. Which makes her wonder why she interfered with his match more than she already is.

Talking to Rosa about it is not helping her not think about it. Instead, the two of them have gone in circles trying to find an explanation for her odd behavior while they train in the gym. She is currently watching the other woman do reps with a pair of weights, her own feeling rubbery from as many reps as she already did. Normally, she doesn't let herself get to the point where she starts to feel like plastic bent in the wrong shape but in an effort to stop thinking, she is pulling out all of the stops. Not that it helps a damn bit, but it is better than nothing, right?

"You have a thing for him," Rosa says as she sets the weights down, giving her arms a shake.

"I do not have a thing for him." Lila scans the rest of the equipment in the room. "Impossible."

Rosa scoffs and gestures for Lila to follow her over to the pull-up bar; taking the hint, Lila links her hands together and helps boost Rosa up to reach the bar. "Not impossible because you do."

"No way. It's not even realistic to have a thing for Bray Wyatt. He's crazy. Scary crazy. On the road to being the next Charles Manson." Lila winces; she's heard the comparison before.

"I don't know." Rosa pulls herself up, chin brushing the bar, muscles bunched. "He's charming."

_Charming_ does not even begin to describe him accurately. It's weird Southern charm that doesn't seem... Right coming from him. "Still very crazy. He gives me the creeps. More than a little."

"Maybe he has a thing for you and he's projecting it or something. Didn't he, like, leave you a note in your locker or something?" Rosa continues doing pull-ups with relative ease.

"He did. It was scarily sweet." Just the memory of the note makes her wince; Bray has nice handwriting and that poetic style of his was reflected in the note. And she thought Creative wrote his promos. Evidently not. "Still. Hitler was an artist. Bray being a poet doesn't make him sane."

She doesn't add the obvious concern that Bray Wyatt managed to sneak into the women's locker room without anyone noticing sometime between when Lila watched his promo at the beginning of the show and when she prepared for her own match against Aksana about thirty minutes later. No one saw him. But she isn't willing to believe he made the note magically appear. Yet.

Rosa glances down at her, one eyebrow quirked. "Crazy men can still be sexy."

"But Bray Wyatt is not Dean Ambrose," Lila counters. The man is awfully drool-worthy.

"No," Rosa agrees, drawing the 'o' sound out, "but he doesn't have to be, does he?"

_True, that._ Lila scowls and heads for the heavy bag on the far side of the room, giving it an experimental punch before finding her center of balance. Most of the Divas don't tend to train on the heavy bag if only because they work on their muscle definition in other ways, but Lila has a perverse desire to protect herself; men see her small size and assume she's an easy target. _As if._ She flexes her fingers, cracking her knuckles in the process, before curling them into fists and striking out at the bag in front of her. Like anyone who truly knows how to fight, she aims for roughly four to six inches _inside_ of the bag, finding an easy rhythm within a few minutes. This is at least familiar to her and it helps center her thoughts somewhat. This is what she needs.

Bray Wyatt is strange. No, he's fucking creepy and the fact she bothered to help him at all is beyond her; she received a vicious enough chastisement for that from Hunter himself as soon as she was out of the trainer's room. Big-nosed bastard has no flair for impromptu work, apparently; it's probably more of the fact now Cena looks like a dick who hits girls than anything else. Absolutely _can't_ have Mr. Never Give Up hitting women. She's lucky she didn't get scheduled for a job or two for punishment; she's scheduled to defeat Eva Marie later on tonight.

She shouldn't be thinking about him. Destructive, angry thoughts circle through her mind; who the hell is he to think she's going to join his demented little family? She has a brain of her own. She isn't like the others; she knows the pretty words he spouts are just pretty words. Bray Wyatt will no sooner change the world than he will convince her to join him, and the sooner people realize that, the better. Maybe he can drop this charade and quit messing with her mind.

_No, sweetheart. You don't want me to give up that easy. You don't give up that easy, either._

_I simply made an educated guess about your motives. The answer is somewhere in this little head of yours._ And he'd touched her. He'd actually touched her face.

_And yet, you felt the need to help me. To the point where you were hurt yourself._ And she had.

_Most people don't get hurt trying to ensure that I win._

_It made me wonder just what you were hiding behind your pretty face and your fake smile. I see you, sweetheart. You can hide from the others, but I see right through you._

That last bit erases the rest of the world from her peripheral vision and gives her tunnel vision; all she can see is the bag, all she can feel is the satisfaction each hit inspires and the ache steadily taking up a place in her hands. How can Bray Wyatt know anything about her? How can he claim to be able to look past her _façade_ into her and see that she actually does like causing pain? She isn't that sick; she doesn't like hurting everyone. But there are just those people who get under her skin... People like Nikki Bella, Natalya, and Cameron... And she likes to inflict pain on them in the ring. It's a rush, really, knowing she's found the one place where she can get away with bending the rules. Considering she's still green, they brush off the "accidents."

Bray cannot possibly know that. The very idea spurs a sudden rush of rage and she finds herself hammering the heavy bag, her jaw clenched as her vision begins to darken to red. _No one_ can know that but her and she certainly has not shared the information. Who is he to brazenly assume he knows a damned thing about her other than her name and her skill in the ring? They've never even _spoken_ other than that one night and he's gone and left a note in her locker and he's just... He's a fucking psycho and she wishes this bag was his face so she could just—

"Lila!" Rosa's voice cuts through her haze and Lila jerks at the sound, one of her punches missing its mark, her knuckles complaining loudly at the sudden pain.

"I'm fine," she grits out, shaking out her hand before landing the hit correctly. The pain is still there but it's less and she can do this. This is nothing. This is normal training for her and she can get through the pain for the strength she'll gain. "Don't worry. I'll be done in a minute, okay?"

Rosa's telltale sigh makes her grit her teeth; now is _not_ the time to try to push her buttons. "No, you need to stop right now. The fact you haven't yet is just proof that you need to now."

"How is that proof of anything at all, much less me needing to stop?" Another couple hits.

"Because you have a guest," Rosa says, "and you haven't noticed him standing beside you."

"Oh, what the hell are you—Oh." Lila glances up and stops, her eyes widening.

It's not Bray Wyatt. That would be bad enough. But it _is_ Luke Harper and considering the man is nearly a foot and a half taller than her and is throwing a considerable shadow over her, she's alarmed to know she didn't realize he was standing there. Well, at least it's not Bray. Or Rowan. Rowan is just creepy. Harper might have a little bit of sanity left and there is the man's considerable ring skills. Big men shouldn't have his level of skill in the ring. Just... No.

She stares up at him for a moment because no one ever taught her what to do when a man this size is staring down at her. He's not on the attack, so self-defense would be wrong. "Sorry I didn't see you there. I was just, um... Can I help you with something?"

"Lila." He says her name simply and she flinches back slightly; even as easily recognized as it is to her, she can't help but pull back from him. "I was sent to deliver a message to you."

He's wearing the vest she actually rather likes on him and reaches a hand inside of it, extracting a pale envelope that is the same off-white as the one she found in her locker. Her name is on the back of it in pretty, loopy writing that she would never associate with a man as large and burly as Bray Wyatt, but just the same she knows it's his. And when Harper holds it out to her, she stretches out a hand to accept it—albeit with a fair amount of caution.

Harper nods once to her and turns to leave the room, which more or less forces her to turn her eyes down to the envelope in her hands. As always, Bray Wyatt is a strange person and it doesn't seem far-fetched that he would write her letters instead of coming to speak to her directly. He likes cat-and-mouse games even when he claims he doesn't and would rather toy with the ploy of avoidance rather than with confrontation. This is a complement to his direct confrontation on Monday designed to make her second guess herself or maybe just because Bray likes to play with her mind. Maybe he _can_ read her better than she wants to admit he can.

"What's this?" Rosa is at her side, no longer as intimidated with Harper out of the room. "Oh, he wrote you a letter. Is this going to be a normal thing with the two of you? Are you going to write him back, or is this one of those cheesy things where he just writes to you?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't even expect the first one, so… I don't even want to know what this one says, let alone if I have to reply to it. This is weird, isn't it? That he's writing letters." She crosses the room to her gym bag and places the letter inside, keen on forgetting about it until later when she has time to read over it herself. Only alone will the letter truly make sense.

Rosa seems to consider for a moment while Lila returns to her side, eyeing the heavy bag—no doubt looking for traces of blood. "Well, I'm not sure. Bray's kind of secretive even with as revealing as he is sometimes. How about we just get back to training for the day, hmm?"

Back to training they go. Lila does pull-ups until her shoulders scream and does reps until her elbows are sore. By the time they finish, she is sore and her mind is on other things like making Eva look good in their match tonight. Poor girl needs more time in development and isn't going to get it because of _Total Divas,_ but Lila can extend her this service and try to help her not look as unskilled and clumsy as she is. She doesn't hate Eva. Eva isn't Nikki Bella.

The self-proclaimed flame-haired femme fatale is waiting for her when she returns to the locker room, her back leaning against the bank of lockers behind her. Because it's still so early in the day, the room is empty otherwise and Lila isn't adverse to seeing her opponent for tonight because at least Eva is rather down-to-earth off-camera. Just like Summer Rae isn't really a bitch. She flashes Eva a tired smile as she sits down on one of the benches, rolling her shoulders to work the stiffness out of them. A hot shower and some Icy Hot is exactly what she needs.

"Looks like you had a hell of a workout," Eva comments before sitting down beside her, pushing her hair back behind her shoulder. "So, is there anything special you wanted to do for the match tonight? Like we can go the typical job route or maybe work in a—What's that?"

Without thinking, Lila has retrieved the letter from her bag and is slowly tearing it open. She looks up, vaguely startled because she hasn't been paying attention before allowing herself to be caught in Bray's spell once again. "Oh. Luke Harper brought me a letter. Said it's from Bray Wyatt. Judging by the handwriting on the back, it might be. I just wanted to see what it said."

"So is Creative going to work you two into a storyline? Or is this just like… Him being the creepy, Bray Wyatt version of romantic?" Eva asks, holding a hand out for the envelope once Lila has extracted the letter. She hands it over, watches Eva run the creamy paper through her fingers, tracing where Lila's name has been written on the smooth surface.

"No one said anything about a storyline." Lila slowly unfolds the letter, scanning the words without really reading them. "I guess this is just all him, then. It's kind of strange."

Eva sets the envelope down on the bench between them, propping her chin in the palm of her hand. "If you're up for it, read it out loud. Maybe there's some reading between the lines there."

_"Dearest Miss Lila,"_ Lila murmurs, furrowing her brows at the words. Just like the last one.

"It's very Southern," Eva muses, and Lila nods silently in agreement. "But that's probably more of where he grew up than anything else. Keep going. Let's see if he's as poetic on paper."

Lila quickly scans the paragraph to assure herself there's nothing there that might tip Eva off about her more violent nature, then starts reading again. _"I hope this letter finds you as well as the last did. Congratulations on emerging from your matches victorious. Experience and valor only go so far, and from there only the passion to survive the hellfire creates the results we so often find ourselves desiring as outcomes. You have survived that hellfire yourself."_

"Did you tell him anything about your past?" Eva asks, and Lila thinks over what Bray Wyatt _should_ know about her—nothing about her troublesome past. That's her little secret.

"No," she finally admits, not missing the concern on Eva's face as she looks up at her once again. The silence unfolds between them, the letter a catalyst for yet another round of confusion and worry. How does he know about her past? Or maybe it's just strange symbolism for something else. "Do you want me to keep reading or should we just, ah, stop now?"

Eva considers, as if even she doesn't know if she wants to hear more of it, before swallowing hard and nodding slowly. "I think maybe you should. I mean, this doesn't seem like something to keep to yourself, you know? If it was another guy, _any_ other guy, it'd be a different story."

"That's a good point. I just wish… I don't know. I should have stayed backstage that night." But she doesn't really regret it is the thing. And she still hasn't been punished for it.

"You took your place like Tamina always says," Eva argues, and Lila just sighs and looks down.

She finds where she left off and continues, trying to keep her voice steady and firm. _"Being forged by fire is something we have in common. We were both treated as trash. As nothing. We were both thrown to the wolves at early ages, underestimated and feared from nearly the beginning. But you know that as well as I do. And you know that I know that."_

"He hasn't been going around your old neighborhoods or anything, has he?" Eva demands, and Lila just shrugs because she doesn't know. How is she supposed to know?

"I haven't been back home in years. I wouldn't know if he's been there or not. My father certainly wouldn't care enough to make the effort to tell me." She stops at the mention of his name, closes her eyes, then opens them and turns back to the letter.

_"You have so many goals and so many accomplishments yet to come your way. But the simple truth is that it's only a matter of time before your charade of innocence falls apart—and it will be long after you have grown weary of carrying it on your shoulders. But for now you carry it as you swore you would when this began as if you think you can atone for sins you didn't commit."_ She tightens her jaw slightly at those words, trying to measure their meaning. And she knows he's making a very subtle jab at her persona in the ring. In-ring, Lila is a pretty little doll with a perfect smile and perfect hair. And there's a reason for that. Sighing softly, she shakes it off and continues reading. _"You work best in the darkness. You always have. You were born of it and you thrive in it no matter what those who have your best interests in mind think of you."_

It's too much and Lila throws the letter down, watching it land facedown on the tiled floor and not really caring. Eva shifts closer and drapes an arm over her shoulders, saying nothing and somehow that is perfect for this moment. No words can ever express the kind of comfort she needs at this moment, not when there is nothing she wants to hear or needs to hear. Right now, the only thing she needs is to have someone sit with her and understand the truth.

"If you want, we can talk about it or we can burn this letter and not talk about it again," Eva says, and Lila laughs softly at the suggestion. Not because she thinks it's funny but because she's convinced the letter might return if it decides it wants to show up again. "Or we can take this letter and report it to Hunter. He takes this kind of thing seriously now."

They can do that, Lila realizes. They can take this letter—as well as the first letter—straight to Hunter to show him exactly what has been going on. Bray signs his letters by name and it would be all too easy to match up the signature at the bottom of the letters to a signature on a contract. And Hunter has more than a little sway when it comes to who gets fired and who doesn't.

"It's fine," she says instead, scrubbing a hand over his face as the full weight of her decision to do nothing about this settles over her. _Anything that happens past this point is your fault and you can blame no one but yourself._ "I'll be fine. He's just—Bray's just weird, that's all. So, tonight."

"Tonight, we have a kick ass match and we steal the show," Eva says, grinning broadly at her.

Lila finds herself relaxing into a smile and nodding in agreement. "And we'll do so with ease."

They shift into talking about the match, and Lila reflects that even though Eva isn't great, not yet, she cares enough to try to make it look good and she cares about screwing up. There's potential.

By the time they finish talking, she feels better about the situation with Bray and changes into her ring gear without a problem. She hates the little frills and ribbons more than words can say, but it does make for a good show and she does like the overall effect of looking the underdog.

"I'm going to call my man and let him know we're one soon," Eva finally says, standing.

"Good deal." Lila turns to face her. "I'm wearing pink so you should rock your red gear tonight."

Eva agrees and heads off to make her call and change, and Lila reaches down to pick the letter up, folding it back up and sticking it in her bag. Even if it would be a better idea to get rid of the damned thing, she has no real desire to. After all, a piece of paper can't exactly hurt her, can it?

She just needs to get her mind on the match tonight and deal with Bray Wyatt at a later point in time. And at this point, she has no delusions about the fact she _will_ have to deal with him. You just don't say no to a man like Bray, and while that should scare her, she can't help the smirk that tugs at her lips as she closes her locker, making sure she spins the combination firmly.

If Bray wants to challenge her, she will accept it and then beat him at his own game. Easily.

* * *

_**A/N: The amount of support this story has received in its infancy is astounding. I thank you all very much. I wasn't sure how it would be taken because there's just not many stories about the Wyatt Family that portrays them as anything but villains and in taking a different route, I was taking a risk. But you have proven that risk was more than worth it. Thank you all so much.**_


	3. Chapter Three

_**But I'm Guessing That's The Reason That You've Stayed** _

It takes a special kind of obsession to still be chasing after her. Weeks have passed since they last spoke and he is carrying the burden of a major loss against Cena when he decides enough is enough. _Payback_ is over, and still Lila has refused to come out of hiding. How many messages does he have to send her before she finally relents and comes to speak to him directly?

Bray has sent her many, many letters since then in an attempt to draw her out; he was bound and determined to make her come to him instead of the other way around, and now that has proven useless because she still has not shown her face. Her winning streak has continued thus far and some are calling for a match against Paige, but he knows as well as she does that she doesn't want that championship. Even if his current sights are set on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, hers will always be set simply on winning. She doesn't need to carry a belt to feel as though she is superior; it's there in her eyes that she already believes it, and every opponent she crushes along the way is just cannon fodder for her rise to the top.

He's tired of waiting for her to speak to him. Had she come to him and told him no, that she wanted nothing to do with him, than he would have backed up enough to make her realize she was wrong. But he will be _damned_ before he allows her to ignore him and push him away mentally and physically before she has told him what her choice is. He _will_ get it out of her tonight even if that means chasing her to the ends of the earth. But for now, all he has to do is find her backstage and corner her. Not hard with Harper and Rowan trailing behind him.

The Divas usually break off into little groups backstage and now is no different. Lila is standing between Rosa Mendes and Eva Marie, her golden curls damp around her face as she watches one of the monitors. Funny how she still waits backstage when she knows he could appear.

"There she is," he murmurs to himself, a slow smirk lifting the corners of his lips as he waved to his brothers. "Stay back. Wouldn't want to frighten her away just yet."

He glances back at Rowan, still holding an ice pack to his skull. That ladder hit was vicious.

"And go have that checked again if I don't return in five minutes." With that, he leaves them.

Both of her friends notice him before she does, which proves just how lost she is in whatever match is currently on the screen. Eva nudges her in the side until she finally scowls at the other woman, then her head swivels the moment Eva points in his direction, eyes widening at him.

"You have a lot of nerve walking up to me right now," she says, and he can't help but laugh at her words. "Good match with Sheamus for what it was. Is Rowan going to be okay?"

He arches an eyebrow at her, curious. "Never thought you'd be worried about one of my boys."

"I saw the hit. You can't fake that." She bites her lip, eyes drifting around him silently.

"If you want, you can go see for yourself. He won't bite." He waves her toward Harper and Rowan. _Are you going to go see to him, Lila?_ "I'll wait right here for you to come back."

Lila hesitates but finally nods and gives her girls meaningful looks before rounding him and heading toward where his boys are standing. Unable to resist, he turns to watch her go—not to gawk at her but just to see how she will respond to the nasty bruise already developing on Rowan's head. He's never heard anything compassionate leave her lips before and he knows from backstage gossip that she rarely worries if she managed to injure one of her opponents.

"I told you she was going to go check up on him," a voice behind him says, and Bray glances back to see Eva tossing her flame-red hair back over one shoulder almost dismissively.

"Excuse me?" he asks, and she looks up at him, her face paling slightly as she takes a step back. How interesting to see her cowering back like that when she calls herself a flame-haired femme fatale. "I don't think I heard you. Care to say that just a little bit louder, sweetheart?"

Rosa is the one who clears her throat and speaks, and Bray makes a mental note of this for later. After all, Rosa was the one there when Harper delivered the letter. "She was worried about him."

"Was she, now?" Bray glances back over to where Rowan has bent down so Lila can examine the bruise steadily darkening on his head, her lower lip clamped tightly between her teeth as she tentatively takes the ice pack from his hand and touches it to the wound.

"She mentioned maybe checking on him," Rosa adds, and Bray can't help but smirk.

That alone is enough to tell Bray he has been winning this little battle of wills for quite some time; her caring about Rowan's head injury is proof she will be the perfect matriarch for the Wyatt Family. Sister Abigail was right. This girl will be the one to stand by his side and lead the revolution, helping him build the world down to start anew. With her by his side and the gold—the power—of the WWE in his grasp, nothing will be able to stand between him and the inevitable moment when his followers are prepared to do whatever it takes to change everything.

Lila is already falling into his family and she has no idea it's even happening. When will she realize what she's doing and try to convince herself she still has total control of it all?

Finally, she returns to her friends and turns to look up at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "You should run him by the trainer's room just one more time before you leave the arena."

"I have every intention of doing just that," he assures her, noting the way Eva continues to tense, her dark eyes darting around the area frantically. "Would you prefer to speak in private?"

"Eva, Rosa, I'll catch up with you two after I'm done talking to Bray," Lila murmurs softly.

It takes all of Eva's self-control not to bolt. Bray can tell. "Are you sure you want to be alone?"

"We'll see you at the hotel." Rosa gently takes Eva's arm. "She wants privacy. She can have it."

As soon as the two of them are gone, Lila seems to relax slightly and Bray waves his boys closer, no longer concerned about frightening her with the two of them skulking about behind him like he has them do. She doesn't seem to tense when they do join him, casting long and dark shadows over her little corner of the room, and Bray has to grin at that. While she might have been worried in the very beginning, she's found her backbone once again and is ready to face him down like she started to do the first time they spoke—but even then, she faltered.

"You don't want your friends knowing what you say to me. Why would you send them away?" he asks, noting the way her eyes widen just a touch at his words. But just a touch.

"You've sent me a lot of letters since the first one," she says, no doubt ignoring his question.

He nods slowly at that. "I have. I'm also aware you've received every single one of them."

She pauses and he fights the urge to smirk at her, wanting to keep her on even ground and not wanting to make her think he was proud of himself for getting all of them to her. But really, making sure every single note ended up somewhere she would be, somewhere where she would be forced to notice and take it, was no trouble at all. It never has been difficult, really.

"I did. And I read them all." She chews on her lower lip again. "You're very poetic, you know."

When she falls silent again, he leans back and waits for her to continue, sensing there is more she wants to say to him. After all, allowing him to corner her means she must want something or have some reason for not trying to escape. She's ignored him and refused to meet with him, to search him out, so perhaps she was just waiting to see if he would come to her first. Clever girl.

"You seem determined to have me join your little family. I don't think I've been able to quite wrap my mind around why you'd want that, though," she finally says, and he frowns at her.

From an outsider point of view, surely there are dozens of reasons why to seek her out and offer her this position as opposed to someone else. Everyone in the company knows how vicious she is, how strong, how adamant she is about winning her matches. Thus, why not choose the one undefeated Diva when clearly Bray is drawing power to him, to his family, in order to further their message across the world? Of course, his reasoning is so much more complicated than that.

_Anyone_ can be undefeated. His little brother, Bo, is still currently undefeated and as much as Bray loves him—he'll never hurt him, never let anyone hurt him—Bo isn't right for _this_ family. Lila has more to offer than just brute force, and she just proved it moments ago when her concern about Rowan led her to checking him out and even applying the ice pack herself.

But instead, he just levels his gaze with hers. "You are the _right_ choice for this."

Her brows furrow and he sighs softly, grasping at the pretty words he so often speaks into the microphone and yet not wanting to use them on her. Even if they would be more convincing than the truth—he can spin pretty word webs when he so desires, and thus far it's earned him a lot of followers—she needs something other than that. She needs something more concrete than words and he isn't sure what he can offer her. Obviously, the truth will not go over well with her because, like so many others, she doesn't understand the power that is Sister Abigail.

"You're the only one who can do this," he finally says, straining to make the words as convincing and honest as he can without letting slip too many details. "No one else has the very complex and intricate set of qualities needed to do this. Lila, you are the only one who can lead this family beside me and I will have no other, nor do I want any other. I only want you."

Her jaw slackens and he can almost _see_ the words she wants to speak escaping her.

He wishes there was more he can tell her, but that really is all there is to it and if she needs more, he'll have to simply leave her with what he's given her thus far. In his letters, he's told her many times that she needs only to drop her charade as the good little girl and give into the demons lurking inside of her, wanting to come out. The _monster_ that lives inside of them all is the fuel to her fire and if she only allowed it to kindle, she would blaze brighter than any stars in the sky.

But until she is willing to unleash her true self, he can't push her to join this family and he won't do it. He wants her to choose it for herself, to see all he has laid out for her and understand what she will gain by doing such a small and yet monumental thing. So he waits quietly for her to speak, aware of his brothers beginning to tense and shift about behind his back.

"I don't think I can be what you want me to be," she finally says, scrubbing a hand over her face.

"You already are exactly what I want you to be." He touches her cheek. "Just open yourself."

She sighs but doesn't push his hand away. "To what, Bray? To the darkness? It's not there."

"It is there and you know it is. It scares you that I know it's there." At her gasp, he simply nods.

"You can't know that." And he's heard this before. "You can't. How can you know that?"

Might as well just let her in on this last little secret. "Because Sister Abigail told me so herself."

"Bray, Sister Abigail is _not_ real," Lila snaps, smacking his hand away and he has to bite his tongue in order to halt the reproach he wants to fire at her. "I mean, I suppose she was once. Maybe she's still alive, even. But she's not some supernatural being like you make her sound."

Perhaps it is simply time to prove young Lila wrong, then. "She told me about your parents. About your mother's death. About how your father refused to care for you. Your rebellion."

"_No._ You can't know about that. We haven't been anywhere near my childhood home and I know you haven't talked to my father," she says, her voice suddenly losing most of its bite.

"Why would I need to speak to your father?" Bray chances contact again and rests a hand on her shoulder; her skin is cold through her t-shirt. "Abigail tells me all I need to know."

Her eyes narrow up at him. "And she told you about my past. Why would she do that?"

"Because I asked her if there was anything I needed to know about you," he says softly.

"Okay. So you know. Yeah. My dad didn't much care for me looking like my mom." Her voice is cold, then. There is no life to her words, no passion. "And she overdosed. Now you know."

He nods slowly, processing her expression, her tone. "And you survived all of it yourself, Lila."

"Why did you need to ask her about me? Why did you need to know anything about me at all?" Lila rakes her fingers through her hair and exhales harshly. "Look, I don't know why I helped you that one time. Maybe I'm just tired of seeing Cena win. Maybe I just like your mic skills. But there is _nothing_ to read into and now you're just opening cans of worms with all of this."

"_Everything_ is worth reading into when it makes you question very important things about yourself. I swore I would lead this family alone. And yet you made me realize I didn't have to." He squeezes her shoulder, keeping her anchored to the here and now.

She furrows her brows again and he can't help but smile softly; at least her emotion is back. Her dead, cold voice was honestly beginning to frighten him. "I don't understand why. Bray, all I did was distract Cena for, what, five seconds? Four? And you beat him and that was it. There was nothing else to it and there's no reason to consider bringing me into the family because of it."

"And that is where you are wrong. If you could only look into yourself and see otherwise." He considers her face for a moment, then continues. "Lila, you are powerful. You are strong. You crush your opponents. You hurt the ones you don't like. And you made a very determined choice that night. It wasn't to stop Cena. It was to help me. Why did you make that decision?"

Her face darkens and she starts to speak, but he simply lays a finger over her lips, then taps her temple and gives her a look: _Stop and think._ Lila looks like she wants to argue the point, but then she stops and leans back against the wall, her eyes going glassy as she turns herself inward and tries to find the answer. Even though she has been dodging this for weeks—he can look into her eyes and see proof of that himself—he is going to get an answer out of her this time.

Sister Abigail knows the answer and she assured him all he had to do was make Lila stop and think it over, force her to truly look into herself, and she would know and understand her own motives as well as the rightness of this choice. Had it merely been her dislike of Cena, she most likely would have been able to brush off the whole incident and move on with her life, but she's softened toward his boys and now she's standing her, searching for the truth at his request.

Only Lila knows what lies inside of her, so deep inside she's drawn curtains around it in a vain effort to make it all go away and leave her forever. He understands; her childhood must have been just as awful as his. But like him, she escaped and found herself in a place of power. All she has to do is accept his offer and admit the truth about herself, and she can lead at his side. And when she is by his side, the two of them will command the masses and this world will burn at their feet to become something new. Something new and far more beautiful and valuable than the dark, wretched, and wicked world that tried its hardest to crush them into the dust.

She comes back to herself with a faint twitch, her eyes slowly regaining their spark as she lifts them to his face, chewing her lip again. Gently, he tugs her lip free and smoothes over the indents there with his thumb; the last thing he wants to see is her making herself bleed. Then he silently waits for her to tell him what she found while she was mentally away.

"I just… It had nothing to do with him," she finally says, and Bray nods slowly at the words.

"Not wholly surprising, that," he admits. "Why did you come out during my match, Lila?"

She exhales slowly and meets his eyes directly. "Because I wanted to make sure you won, Bray."

He nods again and watches her digest this information herself, her eyes drifting over to where his boys are standing behind him. It's not hard to see the fact that she does care for them even if she doesn't understand why, but it only makes him smile. That maternal instinct will be useful in the long run, and he can only have his boys' back so often. She can be there for the rest of it.

"And why did you want to make sure I won?" he asks, drawing her attention once again.

"Because you're right." She shivers slightly, no doubt at the gravity of her words. "You're right. It's not just that this entire world needs to burn. It's that so few people really, truly understand."

He nods fervently at her words. "Exactly. And you wanted to show them what they do not see."

"I thought maybe… Maybe seeing me on your side would _make_ them see it," she says softly.

"And many will have seen that moment and they will have believed that there was something to my words if such a good girl would respond." He touches her soft, soft curls. "Join us, Lila."

She swallows hard and starts to shift away from his touch, so he drops his hand and waves for his boys to take a step back. This much progress and yet he can sense she's ready to bolt, to lock herself away in her charade once again and struggle to force this revelation back inside of the box she's fabricated just for it. Sighing softly, he backs away from her and watches her bolt, sprinting so hard her hair whips back from her face and streams out behind her. She's determined to get away from him and there's nothing he can do at this point to convince her otherwise.

He can't help but feel slightly frustrated, but he knows she will come to him in time and the largest wall between her and the monster inside has been eradicated. Once she figures out that running will only make things more difficult for her, she'll come to him. She just needs a little more time, and then everything will fall into place as it should.

Until then, he'll simply have to return to the hotel and ruminate over how much they accomplished and what his next step is—namely, _Main Event_ tomorrow night.

He should have expected the Usos to come defend Sheamus when his boys became involved, and as a result he should have simply told them to stay back and let him fight. Rowan's head injury was not worth attacking the Irishman and he wants to get his boy to the trainer's room, then bed.

"How does your head feel?" he asks Rowan, leading them toward medical.

"Hurts," Rowan grunts, and Bray nods silently, waiting to see if the other man plans on continuing. "Like hitting the concrete. I don't envy your ladder match."

Bray chuckles and turns to clap him on the back. "That match will be nothing too difficult."

"Do you want us at ringside or do you want us to stay away?" Harper asks from beside him.

"Stay away," Bray says firmly. "You have your own match, and I don't want you getting hurt."

The trainer's room is a familiar enough place considering the fact the three of them end up here after nearly every house show; they don't pad the floor very well during them and Rowan's hit his head far too may times for Bray's liking. Even if his boys are strong and their family bond is unbreakable, he has no desire to watch one of them nearly fracture his skull every other night and he is not amused the culprit this time was a ladder. He at least wants to pay back the favor tomorrow night and make sure Sheamus knows just how much that hurt even if they do not win the match. As for the Usos… Well, they'll just have to see once they get there.

He stands in the doorway and watches the doctor examine the bruise on Rowan's head, Harper hovering behind him. Gently, he lays a hand on the bigger man's shoulder to calm him and assure him everything is going to be okay. He's had his doubts in the past because Rowan has been hit in the head so _many_ times, but at least he's been able to recover well each time.

It doesn't really make it easier to see one of his brothers in pain every night, though.

Once Rowan is released, though, Bray breathes a sigh of relief and makes a beeline for the nearest exit, no longer interested in lingering in the building. He has done what he needed to do—having spoken to Lila—and now he just wants to leave and get his brothers back to the hotel and in bed for a restful night's sleep. Too many people have called him heartless or cold, but he doubts they would believe he is the one who makes sure his boys are in the right condition to enter the ring. He doesn't let them unless he's convinced they can take the punishment, and he's never asked them to come to his aid. They choose to do so, and he comes to theirs on his own.

That is how a true family works, and he's learned that by having a good little brother and, of course, his brothers in the Wyatt Family. Bo, Harper, and Rowan have taught him a lot.

As soon as they reach the hotel, he books them a conjoined room as he always does, sending Rowan to one room to rest while he and Harper talk in the other. It allows them to rest as needed but doesn't force any of them to lie in the quiet and wait for sleep to come. Usually, Rowan ends up in bed before he or Harper just due to the fact the big man ends up injuring his head far too often for comfort. Bray looks over his head once more, wincing at the skin darkening there, before heading back to the other room, closing both doors behind him quietly. This has to end if only to make sure his boys are not put through this kind of abuse and punishment for a while.

He drifts to the window, sitting on the edge of the sill and peering out into the night, when Harper speaks to him. "Do you still believe she's going to join us?"

Bray glances over at his brother and waves him over to the window, not having to ask for Harper to turn off the lamp between the beds, bathing the room in darkness. Not total darkness, though; the light from the city spills through the windows and offers some light if very little. It's enough, though, for Harper to come stand next to him and Bray rests a hand on his shoulder. This has been difficult for all of them, he knows, and he wants it to work out soon so his boys can relax and focus on beating the Usos at _Money In The Bank_ in two weeks.

"I know she will. She just needs a little more time," he assures Harper quietly.

Of his two boys, Harper is the one whose mind goes just a little bit deeper and, as a result, he worries more and asks more questions, always worrying and concerned over their future. He's the one who led them when Bray was momentarily gone, and he's so proud of him for it.

"How much more time, though?" Harper presses. "She's had weeks to think about this."

Bray sighs softly and shrugs. "Not much time. Not like before. Like so many people, she's been in denial for most of her life. Being abandoned at such a young age does that to people, Luke. She needs to come to terms with this, and I suspect that won't take her long at all."

"Because she's already had to come to terms with her initial actions?" Harper asks.

"Exactly that." Bray smiles at him. "And she gave us the honest answer for the first time."

Harper nods slowly, then looks at him again. "But what if she still refuses to join with us?"

"I don't think that's within her power anymore, if you want to know." Bray pushes the curtains further open, allowing more light into the room, glancing down toward the ground. He can't see her, but he knows she's not here right now. He _knows_ where she is. "She's already made the first steps toward joining us. You saw her genuinely concerned about your brother's well-being."

"Is that the sign you've been hoping for?" Harper asks, sitting on the sill across from him.

Bray chuckles softly and nods. "Exactly that. By Friday night, she will be with us. I promise."

He already knows why it is no longer her choice whether she joins the Wyatt Family or not; Lila has already challenged the wrong person and Bray never claimed to be able to restrain her anyway. What Lila needs is not only time to come to terms with who she is but proof that this is right, and she will get that proof Friday night. As always, he feels it deep in his gut.

Those gut feelings, he knows, are largely Abigail working her magic and at this point, if she feels the need to get involved, he is not going to say a word against it. She isn't going to hurt Lila, after all. She'll just nudge her in the right direction in one way or another.

And come Friday night—maybe early Saturday morning—Lila will have all of the information she needs to know this is the right decision. Bray is looking forward to being able to welcome her into the family as a true member. She'll enjoy being a member just as much, as well.

Given the proper amount of time, she'll rise to her place as his matriarch and the WWE Universe will see the rightness of this. Lila admitted herself that she already sees that rightness, and he has faith in her that she will continue to see it and spread it to everyone she can.

He releases a breath and smiles at Harper. "Get some rest. Tomorrow night is a big night for us."

"The Irishman and the Usos. We'll defeat them," Harper says confidently, and Bray nods.

It won't be the last time they face each other. His boys will go against the Usos and he himself will be opposite Sheamus come the pay-per-view, but before then, they have a chance to make a truly lasting impression against the three. No one can stand against the Wyatt Family and succeed, after all, and Bray has every intention of proving that himself at _Main Event._

He closes the curtains and steps away from the window, heading for the bed closest to it and stripping down, sliding beneath the covers and letting his eyes fall closed.

_You've run for as long as you can, little girl, but you don't have many places left to run._

As soon as she truly runs out of places to run, she'll have to confront the truth. She'll be forced to look at herself, at her choices, at his offer, and at her life and decide. Nothing else will be there to stop her, and Bray is truly excited to see what her choice ends up being.

* * *

_**A/N: And here we have chapter three. Wow, I am just blown away by you guys getting behind this and enjoying this. Can we talk for a minute about the ladder shot Erick Rowan took to the head, though? Because that was legit. And on that note, how would you guys feel about some Harper-centric or Rowan-centric stories? Because I most definitely want to display my love for those two. Without them, we wouldn't have the Wyatt Family.**_


	4. Chapter Four

_**It Was Dark And I Was Over  
**_

She thought, at the time, a walk to the beach might help her clear out her muddled thoughts.

But like so many things in her life, it failed at its job and now she's just sitting on a stray rock along the shoreline, watching the water lap at the sand and trying to process exactly how she feels about this. About _everything._ Bray knows about her parents; her mom overdosed and her dad more or less gave up taking care of her because she looked too much like the worthless crack whore who abandoned them both. Yes, it played a large part in forming the Lila of today because she had to struggle just to stay alive. But in the end, she survived, she overcame it all, and she became a professional wrestler, a dream that kept her pushing through when times became almost too hard for her to overcome. Now, though, she has no idea what will come next for her.

Possibly suspension. She winces slightly at the memory, but booking her against Nikki Bella has always been a risk and surely the company knows this by now. Backstage, the other woman is a bitch and Lila has long since given up trying to tolerate her attitude. In the ring, she proves it.

Not that it's her fault; if a wrestler botches a landing and gets hurt, that botch is that wrestler's fault and not the fault of the person who used the move on them in the first place. When she face-planted Nikki, it was Nikki's responsibility to remember to turn her head so her actual face wouldn't have to take any of the brunt of the pressure. She hadn't. And the sight of the blood smearing her face when Lila rolled her over had been vaguely terrifying but also immensely satisfying. So maybe, just maybe, she'd done something she shouldn't have done.

The Sister Abigail isn't a difficult move to accomplish by any means. It requires strength, which she has despite her small frame, and the ability to flip someone with just one arm. Nikki doesn't weight much, which definitely helped matters, and then Lila pinned her for the win.

She should be happy about it. Even though Stephanie basically tore her a new one for not just pinning Nikki when it was clear the other woman was injured, Lila should be over the moon.

For the first time in a long time, she was able to hurt someone in just the way she wanted to hurt them. And, on top of that, someone she hates more than just about anyone else backstage. The fact Nikki is also John Cena's girlfriend hadn't occurred to Lila at the time, but now when she reflects back on it, she wonders if her subconscious mind picked that up when she didn't.

Is it possible? Had she really just added insult to injury not only because she hates Nikki but because it was a very nice shot at the man who would face Bray at _Money In The Bank?_

Lila sighs and braces her elbows on her knees, peering out silently at the waves and pushing her thoughts around in her mind. Honestly, nothing makes sense to her anymore and she just wishes it would all go away for a little while. Doubtless she has a fascination for the Wyatt Family—who doesn't at this point?—but Bray's haunting words and his continuous offer to join that family are confusing to her. Especially the compliments. Since when has he been interested?

Really, though. Since when is Bray Wyatt interested in another woman period?

It isn't like she has some trashed self-esteem and can't possibly believe a man would be interested in her; she knows she's pretty, which is half of why she got the job as a Diva in the first place. But it's _Bray fucking Wyatt_ who has never cared about anything but his family, his message, and himself prior to now. At least as far as she knows, that's all he cares about. He's ringside with his brothers more than half the time and interferes on their behalf enough for her to know that winning and losing truly mean nothing to a man like Bray Wyatt.

But apparently, out of fucking _nowhere,_ having a woman in his life does matter to him.

She reaches up for her ponytail and yanks the elastic band out of it, her eyes watering as her roots are roughly pulled in the process. Sighing, she snaps the hair tie around her wrist and shakes her hair out, letting it fall down her back. It's cool out tonight, not warm, which is good because this close to the shore, it would be a hot and humid evening to deal with. The air is light, instead, and tastes like the sharp salt of the ocean. Had she been looking for ambiance, she's found the perfect place—but she's more concerned about finding a place that will center her and allow her to sort through how she feels about Bray and the offer he made to her.

Does she want to go it alone like she has been or make the choice to join the Wyatt Family?

They aren't the worst family in the world; they're there for each other and that is so much more than she can say for her own family. And just imagine being able to purge the world of all of those bad people, forcing parents to take care of the children they brought into the world or finding homes for those children where they will be loved and taken care of. No one has to deal with the bullshit she did just to survive. No one has to suffer like she did. So many people are already intrigued in Bray's message if not downright agreeing with it, and she might get that message just a little farther because who would ever peg her as a Wyatt?

And then there's Bray himself. Magnetic, certainly. With words alone he certainly netted her and drew her in long ago; she loves his promos and honestly wishes his opponents never gave any because they just sound so bad in comparison, so flat and… Dead, really. It's his speaking skills combined with his phenomenal wrestling skills and that vibe of his that says he really is willing to go the distance he will need to go in order to spread his message to the masses and rule the world with his brothers. If that means working his ass off at _Money In The Bank,_ then so be it. She winces at the thought of the others in the ring with him… And ladders… No doubt having to somehow manage to dodge his hits and God only knows what he can do with the weapons.

The sound of rather heavy footfalls makes her glance up, not surprised one of them found her all the way out here—but she blinks when she realizes Rowan is the one who sits down next to her on the rock. Sheep mask in place, of course, but she's come to understand he wears that almost all the time except for when he's in the ring and, occasionally, when he's backstage with Bray. Even in the darkness, she can see the fading bruise on his head from Monday night.

"Did Bray send you out here to find me? I'm capable of taking care of myself." She runs a hand through her hair, ripping out a few knots in the process but ignoring the brief flares of pain.

Rowan says nothing, just stares straight ahead at the ocean. Surely he's used to it, though, because the Wyatt Family is stationed in Florida and the ocean rings that state rather thoroughly.

She sighs softly and tries for another avenue of conversation. "You guys did a good job at _Main Event,_ beating Sheamus and the Usos. There's talk you guys are facing the Usos for their titles."

This time, he nods every so subtly and someone who doesn't know him would've missed it.

_And suddenly I know him?_ "I hope you and Luke win. You deserve it. You've worked hard."

Another nod, and what she wouldn't give for him to just take the mask off so she can see his face.

"And Bray in the ladder match. That's a huge deal. You guys must be really proud of him." Rowan nods again, just barely, but it's a start. "Rowan… Do you _want_ me to join your family?"

She's never been good at transitions anyway, but this is the first time she's seen one of the brothers alone since Luke came to deliver his letter. And really, Rosa was there so she couldn't talk to him directly anyway. Which is a bummer because he actually speaks now and she might have had a chance to get some real answers out of him while she isn't entirely certain she's going to get any out of—Oh. Rowan lifts the mask slowly off of his head and sets it in his lap, and now she can actually see his face. It's a nice change to the creepy as fuck but sort of cool mask.

But he still doesn't say anything. He just turns toward her as if inviting her to ask the question again. And since he seems fully into the conversation, she might as well ask him again, right?

"Do you want me to join your family? I know it's been just the three of you for… Well, a really long time." She can't really remember the exact date when the three of them showed up.

He seems to consider her, and she can almost feel him thinking though she can't prove it.

"I mean, I imagine you and Harper are maybe on the fence about it," she continues on.

This time, he cocks his head at her, as if… No, he _is_ asking her what she means by that.

"Well, Bray's been the only one leading you two for a long time, and I imagine you're used to it just being the three of you. You and Harper both." She bites her lower lip, not sure how to phrase exactly what she wants to say. "And I know you trust Bray and what he says, and if he says this is how it has to be, you'll go with it. But do you _want_ me in your family or not?"

Rowan chuckles, and the sound throws her off. He can _laugh?_ She's not sure she knew he can.

He still doesn't speak. Instead, he simply looks down at the mask in his hands, then holds it out to her silently. She blinks in shock—this is the same mask he wears every night, after all. But she understands the silent meaning and accepts it, not sure what she's going to do with it.

When he bends his head forward, though, she knows what she's supposed to do with it.

Gently, careful of the bruise on his head, she slips the mask back over his face and it's _power._

He straightens up, as if telling her that is all the answer she needs, before standing and leaving her sitting on the rock. He doesn't offer for her to come with him, simply turns and starts away into the darkness. When she glances back at the sea for a moment, then turns back, he's gone.

But she gets his meaning loud and clear. If she joins the family and accepts Bray's offer to its fullest extent, then Rowan will follow her just as he follows Bray. From him, that means a lot.

She still isn't sure, but she does have that guarantee that it isn't just Bray making this decision for his brothers; his brothers have weighed in on their opinions as well and came to their own decisions. Sighing, she stands and, after giving it another moment of thought, turns to head back to the hotel. She can find Bray in the morning and talk with him a little bit more about it, but she isn't entirely sure she wants to accept his offer just yet. What if she decides down the line she doesn't want to be a Wyatt anymore? Surely Bray isn't going just let her—

The child on the beach is instantly recognizable and she freezes, her eyes widening at the sight of the small figure clad in black with the sheep's mask obscuring his face. Okay, so one of Bray's little followers has found her out here. Nothing to be worried about… Even if the large and snarling dogs on either side of him are somewhat terrifying. No, this is okay. All she has to do is talk to the kid and surely he'll let her pass. The dogs wouldn't dare hurt her. After all, she can't very well accept Bray's offer—if she means to—if she's been killed by fucking Cujo, can she?

"You shouldn't be all the way out here, you know," she tells him, trying to keep her voice from wavering as she crosses her arms across her chest. Why does she suddenly feel cold? "I'm serious, kid. What's your name again? Johnny, right? You should be back at the…"

Her voice dies in her throat and she isn't sure why, but the creep factor only jumps up when the child actually speaks to her. "You wait too long to make your choice. _She_ is getting impatient."

_She. Abigail?_ Another sudden cold chill makes Lila think so. "I understand that, but I need to make my own choice, and if they want me to come to them with no regrets, then—"

A piercing scream echoes through the night, cutting her off, and Lila spins around, her eyes searching the dark water until they land on a thrashing shape in the waves. Small, childlike. Her breath sticks in her throat even as she screams at herself to do the right thing and go after the kid. But the fact is, she can't swim and she's never been able to. It wasn't like her dad was going to teach her, anyway, but she can't just stand here and do nothing while the kid drowns. She can't let it happen. But she also can't just run into the waves and try to save the kid herself because she knows that'll only result in both of them drowning. She needs to run for help. She needs—

But when she turns around, the dogs make the choice for her. The child lets go of where he was holding them by their collars and they shoot forward, jaws bared. Lila shrieks and turns, running for the water and swearing up and down she isn't going to make it in time. They'll be on her in seconds. Her feet slosh through the cool water a moment later and she loses her footing, going under the water. Struggling, she lashes out, kicking and clawing at the water, struggling to break the surface. Her head comes up and she inhales, seeing the dogs at the edge of the water. Pacing. Waiting. Waiting for her to return, likely as not, and she can't do that, can she?

The scream of the drowning child again. _Fuck._ She twists her head around, narrowing her eyes as she searches for the thrashing shape, and then she takes a breath and starts in that direction.

And she really can't swim, but her limbs move through the waves just the same and she turns her head the appropriate times to avoid inhaling water when the water laps against her face.

Who fucking cares if she drowns right now, though? There are no options left to her and besides, there's some kid drowning in the water. She has no idea where he came from or how long he's been out here without her noticing—or how she _knows_ it's a boy and that she has to save him, that no one else is going to come along and do it—but she knows she has to do it.

Sucking in a deep breath, she dives a little lower and propels herself through the dark water, barely able but just able to see the child in the moonlit depths of the water. It's easier going underneath than above with the waves. In the back of her mind, she's pretty sure she's gone insane because too many things have shown up without any indicator of where they came from, but right now she needs to do her part, save this boy, and then get him back to the shoreline.

Her eyes sting from the salt and she squeezes them shut for a moment before forcing them back open. No time to be a bitch about this. When she manages to inhale a lungful of air in the process, she forces herself above the surface of the water and chokes it out, then goes back under. Her depth perception is hell and she has no idea how much further she has to go. Just that she has to.

She breaks the surface again when she's there and grabs the child, pulling him close with one arm and glancing back at the shore. The dogs are still there but there's not anything she can do about that. If they really do charge, then she'll have to do what she can to either fight them off or distract them long enough to scream for help and hope somebody comes to save the child.

Swimming with one arm is nearly impossible especially with a small child clinging to your neck and choking you. Yet again, not much she can do about that. She just propels herself back toward the shore and relies mostly on her legs to get her there. If she gets out of this in one piece, she needs to work on fixing her leg strength because now she knows she needs it. She has no idea if this situation will ever present itself again, but she will need it.

Then her feet brush against something solid and she pushes them down, righting herself with the child in her arms. She's maybe five feet away from the dogs, who continue to snarl at her.

The water, she realizes, is keeping them at bay and she takes a second to gather her breath before looking down into her arms. Even with his hair soaking wet, the boy clearly has blond curls not unlike hers and is crying against her shoulder. She swallows hard; she's never been a kid person, but she still lowers her voice to a murmur and tries to calm him down. When he looks up at her, it takes what very little self-control she has left not to start screaming and bolt into the waves.

She knows Bray's face all too well at this point and when he was four, he probably looked exactly like this. In seconds, her brain compiles this face and her hair, and the world honestly feels as though it's just turned inside-out without warning her it was going to do that.

Then she realizes what she has to do, more or less, and sets the child at her feet. "Stay here."

He looks up at her doubtfully but nods, and she turns back to where the dogs are standing. Now, she knows why she had to save this child and why these things were trying to chase her.

If they get anywhere near the boy, she has no doubt they'll try to kill him.

Which, simply put, means they need to be kept away from him and preferably put down.

She has no problem with putting down a diseased animal, and that's what she'll have to do.

It's either that or risk the child being hurt, and even if she isn't a kid person, she isn't going to allow a child to be harmed on her watch. And if that means getting hurt herself…

There are more important things in the world than simply avoiding getting hurt.

Lila steels herself to not back down and then, every so slowly, steps onto dry land.

She's cold. That's the first thing that really registers in her mind. Her skin is like ice and it hurts to breathe, and she has no idea when it managed to get so cold. Has it always been this cold? She can't remember. All she remembers is that she wasn't this cold before and now she is.

Frowning, she sits up slowly and looks around the length of the deserted beach. It's morning now, she thinks, but early morning. The sky is a pale, pale gray but there are clouds out over the ocean that make her think it'll rain soon. She doesn't want to be out here when it starts raining.

"Ah, you're awake now," a feminine voice says, and she startles, turning around to see a dark-haired… Nun..? Standing not far away from where she's sitting. "I knew you would, though."

"Where am I?" she asks, scrubbing a hand over her face. She feels awful and she can't really remember how she got here. The last thing she remembers is sitting on a rock with Rowan.

The woman hums softly and steps closer, kneeling down next to her, and Lila can't help but smile at her. She has a kind face, almost motherly in a way, and motherly isn't something Lila has very much experience with. When the woman offers her a jacket she didn't notice her holding before, Lila accepts it gratefully and wraps it around herself, hoping it instills some warmth in her numb limbs. The woman offers her a hand and she accepts it, surprised at the strength in the woman's hand and the ease with which she helps Lila to her feet. Certainly she doesn't look very old, but there's something about her that suggests an age and power beyond number and measure. Lila doesn't really know how to put it into words.

"You have an important decision to make," the woman says, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Laughter draws Lila's attention away, and she sees what she thinks is a family playing farther down the beach. At least, she thinks it's a family. Certainly seems that way. Three men, three men, three children running around, chasing each other and screaming laughter. It's a nice image and certainly must be nicer for the children—after all, it looks like all of them have parents who love them and are taking care of them. While she watches, the shortest of the three women calls something out and a child with matching blond curls turns around, running to her and jumping up into her arms. She stumbles a bit, most likely from the momentum combined with the child's weight, and one of the men catches her, easily righting her and wrapping his arms around her.

It takes her a moment to realize the woman is her… And she's standing with the Wyatt Family.

Mystified, she focuses her eyes on where an older version of her stands, of Bray standing with her while they look down at their child. Their _son._ Lila has never once in her entire life wanted children, convinced all she's going to be able to do is hurt them or disappoint them, not be the mother they will need because her mother and father failed her in every aspect of the world. But this future laid out before her seems almost possible. What happens when she joins the Wyatt Family? What about her changes so much that she finally decides to make the choice to take this leap of faith with Bray? She doesn't have the answer to that question, unfortunately.

A hand on her shoulder reminds her that there's still someone standing behind her, and when she turns around, it clicks who this woman is. She should have known from the very beginning, but now that she sees her, _really_ sees her, she understands why Bray puts so much faith in her.

Lila remembers insisting to Bray that Sister Abigail didn't exist. That she _couldn't_ exist but now she's being proven wrong and somehow, the world doesn't feel as unreal as it should. She's standing on a beach with no recollection of how she passed out on the sand, talking to a woman who shouldn't exist after seeing a vision of her future, and yet things feel calm. Stable.

"I made it perfectly clear to Bray that you would be the one to lead beside him," Sister Abigail says, and even her voice seems impossibly old and yet not. "He'll be an excellent leader but not without someone to temper the monster that lives inside of him. And it does live there."

"How exactly am I going to do that?" Lila asks, very aware of the monster being spoken about.

Sister Abigail chuckles softly. "Dear girl, you have a monster inside of you as well. Most do."

"And that's going to… What? Stop his?" Lila furrows her eyebrows, now thoroughly confused.

"Not quite. That monster is, as Bray so eloquently put it, a necessary evil in this world. And some evil is very necessary. It is the same evil that requires a father to kill an intruder who tries to harm his family." Sister Abigail pauses and Lila soaks that in for a moment. It _does_ make sense now that she puts it that way. "But that monster does threaten to take over and in the end, sometimes only another monster can make it remember it must have reason for its madness."

Lila nods slowly, hugging the jacket tighter around herself. "And what happens if I still say no? If I decide not to join the Wyatt Family, then what happens to me? What happens to them?"

"You will be fine, dear girl," Sister Abigail says. "As for their futures, I cannot tell you."

"Why not?" Lila demands. "Why can't I know if they end up okay in the end or not? I have to make a decision anyway, and it doesn't seem fair if I don't get to know what happens."

Sister Abigail chuckles, reaching up to stroke Lila's damp hair. "I know, Lila. It isn't fair. Most make decisions every day without knowing the outcome. Like you did when you came to Bray's aid. But knowing their fates might change your decision. You must make it of your own choice."

"My own choice." Lila quiets then, staring out at the ocean. "I know what I choose, then."

Beside her, Sister Abigail chuckles. "Then go and make your choice."

* * *

She doesn't normally dress like this, but after clearing everything with Hunter—who very much enjoyed what she assured him was a _mutual_ decision on the part of her and the other three—she feels much more comfortable like this. Matching is probably a little childish but she wants everyone to know whose side she is on right now. And so as she glances at herself in the mirror, she decides that if she had to choose something to eschew the old Lila, this is a perfect choice.

The top is simple and black, one side sleeveless while the other sleeve crawls all the way down to her wrist. The shorts are white, very simple. And she wears the glove on one hand, knowing Bray and Bo both wear one to honor their grandfather. She'll honor him alongside them now.

Quickly, she takes the hair tie around her waist and ties her hair up in a passable knot, then leaves the locker room and starts strolling down the hallways. Several people who know her—and by association know her ring gear—frown and cock their heads at her, but she just brushes them off. Eva and Rose have already seen it, and they know what choice she made. As her friends, they've accepted it and encouraged her to do what she thinks is the right thing to do.

She still doesn't remember what happened between sitting on the rock and waking up on the beach, but she understands now that she doesn't have to remember it. All she has to do is remember speaking to Sister Abigail and understanding that she has to make this choice herself.

And she has. For better or worse, she has made the decision that will forever impact her future and change damn near everything about it. She has no idea what comes after this. All she knows is that she has to find Harper and Rowan before they head out for Harper's match with Jimmy—and she needs them to know she made the choice which Bray will, by default, know as well.

They're standing in gorilla of all places and she quickly hurries up to them both. "Sorry I'm almost late, guys. Harper, please do me a favor and put this bastard down as quick as possible."

"Lila." He inclines his head and smiles at her. Not his normal, creepy smile, but just a smile. "Nice to see you've made your choice after all. Are you walking out with us tonight, then?"

She reflects on his words for a moment, glancing at Rowan in the process, and though she can't see him behind the mask she can sense his approval. Maybe she's just learned how to read the signals he gives out in lieu of words, but she thinks there's so much more to it than that and she will never be able to properly put it into words. But then, he doesn't need words. Why should she?

"With you now and with Bray later on tonight," she says with a nod.

Harper smiles again and offers her his arm in a very gentlemanly way, as does Rowan, and she steps between them and takes both of their arms. Until they find the other two women in the vision she'd seen earlier, she'll have no problem walking out with them to their matches.

"I'll put down Uso now and again at _Money In The Bank,_" Harper assures her, and she can't help but giggle at the prospect of seeing the high-flying champions grounded soon.

Inside of her, the monster lifts its head and smiles, revealing its own set of bloody fangs, and she would pet it if she could. Because it's free. There's no point in caging that part of herself when she knows it's entirely necessary to the Wyatt Family's success. To _her_ family's success.

Walking out with the two of them is an electrifying experience to put it in the lightest way possible. Being between them feels natural, and why shouldn't it? These are her boys just as much as they're Bray's boys, and in his stead when he can't be there to sit on the sidelines with them and cheer them on, she's going to be there for them. She will stay right by them until they can find the other two girls—and from then on, all three of the Wyatt boys will have back-up in the form of very protective and deadly women. Lila will make sure of it; she'll take the girls under her wings if need be and teach them everything she knows about being a necessary evil.

The organ music playing "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands" is mildly creepy, as is the stark white lighting that makes it feel like the three of them are in some kind of spotlight. Oh, but they are in a spotlight and Lila can't help but smile when she hears the audience reacting to their presence. To her presence with them. She can also hear the announcers reacting to her presence between the two men but if anyone remembers when she came to Bray's aid, maybe this isn't such a huge surprise. Even if the official plan backstage wasn't to put her with the Wyatt Family, surely everyone who understands the business will merely assume it was and let it go. Or maybe they will wonder why this choice was made and sit back to reflect on that for a while.

It occurs to her that it doesn't really matter if the boys win at the pay-per-view. Eventually, Harper and Rowan will hold the tag team titles and Bray will hold the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Eventually, she herself will hold the Divas Championship—now that she understands Bray's fascination with the gold—it's the power behind it, not the gold itself—she will make a genuine effort to strip Paige of what she has. Or, after the pay-per-view, Naomi if she happens to beat Paige. Doesn't matter one way or another to her. Whoever is holding it when her time comes will lose it because the family needs the power behind it.

Harper looks down to her, and she squeezes his arm reassuringly before leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. It's quite a height and really, he has to bend down quite a bit of the way for it to work—she's more than a foot shorter than his giant height, after all—but they get it done and he heads into the ring. She holds Rowan back, not wanting him to get involved just yet. If he has to get involved, _all_ of them will get involved. She won't leave Harper in the ring alone if he needs their help, after all, and even if he doesn't, they'll still help him. He's family, after all.

He wins. Rowan loses. It's life and helping the two of them decimate the Usos after the fact is one of the most enjoyable things she's ever been able to do. Oh sure, they might be a high-flying tag team but she's a high-flying Diva and as per the rules of the company, neither of them put their hands on her out of nothing more than fear for their jobs. She laughs, outright _laughs_ when the two of them are laid out and then it goes eerily dark again. Between the boys she goes, her eyes jumping up to the big screen to see Bray's face even as her ears pick up on his voice.

His address to the boys and to the world at large is just as flawlessly poetic as always, and in this moment she knows Cena was wrong when he said words were just words. Words are strong because people listen to them. Words carry weight. After all, they always have.

As soon as they get backstage, the boys drop the titles to the floor and she smirks, turning her back on them. Those titles are far from their concern at this exact moment anyway.

"You both did a great job," she informs them, echoing Bray's sentiments from his speech.

Harper nods and tilts his head slightly. "I'm sure Bray would like to speak to you about this."

Lila nods and takes both of their arms once again, humming to herself quietly as they lead her through the twisting hallways of the arena. It occurs to her that there are fewer and fewer people the deeper they go into the building, but the Wyatts are not by and large social people, so this doesn't surprise her as much as it probably should. Instead, she just accepts it as another thing that is and wonders if Bray has been waiting back here for them this entire time. She has no idea where he does go when he does his promos, but she knows the Wyatts have the eerie ability to find the darkest part of every arena and claim it as their own for the time they need it. Maybe they simply choose the most uninhabited halls, as well. It doesn't really matter anyway.

Bray opens the door they stop in front of before they even have a chance to knock, and his eyes immediately fall on where she stands between the boys. It seems to take him a moment, but then he smiles broadly, a smile she recognizes all too well, and offers a hand to her.

"Nice to see you decided to join us after all, Lila," he says, and she lays her hand in his.

It's instant. Magnetic. The pull between them is tangible and behind her eyelids she can see it, cords running through the two of them that have bound them together perhaps from the very beginning, steadily tightening and pulling them together as time draws them closer and closer to the day they would inevitably be together. Fate perhaps, and maybe she was stupid for resisting for so long and yet with that hesitance, she was revealed the rightness of this moment and how much it means for the both of them that she's standing here, joining him in this endeavor.

Strange to think all of her choices might have been a subconscious endeavor to bring her to this moment when she would join Bray Wyatt. That none of them were ever truly hers to make and yet she knows better. It isn't a matter of them not being her real choices. It's a matter of her constantly making the _right_ choices as if all along knowing exactly where her journey led.

Bray draws her into the room and she follows, not surprised to find it extremely dark with the only light coming from the hurricane lamp sitting on one of the benches. Harper and Rowan break away then, no doubt to shower and change after their matches, but Lila just stays standing with Bray, the two of them facing each other, hands still pressed together. _Gloved_ hands now that she's actually paying attention, and she wonders what skin-on-skin would feel like. He's touched her before now, her face and her arm and he's carried her, but this moment is different.

"I knew you would come to us if you had enough time to think about it," he tells her, still smiling.

"In the end I just needed someone to put my thoughts in the right order," she admits, thinking back to the beach. "Your Sister Abigail put it into perspective for me. Now I see why I'm here."

Bray chuckles softly and shakes his head at her. "Not mine. She belongs to nobody, but she is just as much yours now as she is mine. And if she helped you understand why this is right, then that is just further proof that your being here is how it should be. Do you want to do this, Lila?"

He holds up his other hand, and she simply answers his question by placing her bare hand in his.

If she thought it was electrifying to touch him the first time, then she has no words for what this is. The moment their skin touches, it's like pure fire and heat and everything that should be passes between them, knocking her breath out of her lungs. It almost _hurts,_ really, but nothing can be gained without first paying a price and so she simply grits her teeth through the initial discomfort before it quiets and smoothes over her, leaving something like _power_ in her veins.

His hands still wrapped around hers, Bray pulls her closer and she can sense the silent question, the silent desire. Because she doesn't need words now. She understands why Rowan never uses them and why Harper and Bray never have to ask him to articulate his thoughts.

This is the moment of truth, truly. She can still leave now. Somehow, she understands that is still an option and she needs only perform one more task before she cements her place as a leader at Bray's side. As his matriarch. She fully understood that at the beach, that being at his side meant more than just standing beside him in the ring. It means _everything_ and she knew this when she joined Harper and Rowan in gorilla. Ironic how she never thought she'd end up with Bray Wyatt.

Even more ironic given the weight of the decision she still has to make.

Prior to now she's chased tattooed, leather-wearing bad boys who really just live to cause trouble and make life hell for everyone around them. She's never cared about anything other than the initial spark and then she pushes them away later on, not caring that she's hurting them and ignoring them if they try to hurt her. She could never _be_ hurt by their actions because there was nothing other than lust involved, but it's not about just lust when she stands this close to Bray.

It doesn't matter he isn't her normal type; her normal type has never been worth holding onto.

It doesn't matter that up until this point, she wasn't even sure what her future would hold.

It doesn't matter because now she understands why she truly came to his aid against Cena.

Because in that moment, Bray needed her and she did what she needed to do to help him. She came to his side because she's meant to be at his side. She's meant to do more than lead.

She's meant to be the one who falls for him.

When she lets go of his hands, it isn't to push him away or pull away to run. His face doesn't so much as drop at all so he knows this as well as she does. Laughing softly, she jumps up and wraps her arms around his neck, his hands immediately catching her under the thighs to help hold her up. She grins and wraps her legs around him the best he can, making sure they have a grip on each other or she's going to fall to the floor and that would hurt like a bitch.

Then she kisses him. It's like nothing she's ever felt before and it magnifies that initial touch a thousand fold. Bray pulls her as close as he can and she clings tighter to him, the rightness of this making sense in every way possible. This is where she's supposed to be, and she couldn't be happier to be here. There's nowhere else she belongs in this entire world, and she will be happy to spend the rest of her days right here by this man's side now that she has that choice.

They have to pull back to breathe and they both laugh, the dizzying experience a little more than she expects. When he sets her back down, she snatches the hat off of his head and sets it on her own, fiddling with it a bit to get the right angle. He chuckles again and rests his hands on her shoulders, and she lets her fingers curl around his wrists just for the extra contact. For one moment, there is nothing else but the two of them and the bond that lives between them.

"There's no turning back now," he tells her, his voice suddenly very solemn and serious.

She nods up at him. "I know. And I intend to prove I know when I follow you to ringside."

He smiles down at her and she smiles up at him, and it occurs to her there really is no backing down now. For better or for worse, she will stay by his side and lead this revolution with him.

But that is exactly where she belongs. Who is she to dispute that now?

* * *

**_A/N: Look, Lila and Bray are together now! Yay! That's what we wanted, right? Right? O.O At any rate, I'm very pleased with how this chapter came out. There is one more after this that will take place after Money In The Bank because I need those results to write it correctly. And there will be Harper-centric and Rowan-centric stories to come after I finish a couple things._**


	5. Chapter Five

_**Let It Burn**_

Bray has no qualms leaving Jericho in the ring. It isn't his job to pick people up.

Lila is waiting backstage as always, standing in a corner with Eva and Rosa, the three of them chatting as the monitor broadcasts the typical commercials between segments. When she sees him, she brightens noticeably but even he can see that dark spark of approval in her eyes as she crosses the floor to meet him. Neither of her friends scurry for cover this time, and he has to give them credit for that. The six of them might not quite be friends, but the girls who were afraid to so much as be around his family are now standing tall with no fear in their eyes.

Coming backstage to his lady is a nice change. Even if his brothers didn't win the tag team championships and even if he didn't win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, none of it matters so long as their family is whole. And it is whole. The different pieces of their little faction are standing strong and nothing is going to tear them apart. Bray might not be able to see the future—not when every little decision changes it each and every second—but he knows that their family bond is stronger than any other. And besides, they still won their match against Sheamus and the Usos tonight, and that bodes well for all of their futures.

"Something going on between you and Jericho I don't know about? You usually don't pick random targets," Lila muses, falling in beside him and wrapping both of her arms around his.

He chuckles softly and leans his head against hers. "I suppose you'll have to wait and see."

She scoffs up at him but nods, satisfied to wait and see like all the others if she must, and Bray admires her for that. While his brothers occasionally show doubt or uncertainty, she doesn't question him or doubt him. She just follows him and stands beside him, never hesitating, never wondering. Her faith in him has been a restoring force all its own, and her encouraging words helped him and his brothers last night when they were all in pain after their matches. No matter how enduring he might be, a ladder match is always going to hurt and he knew he wasn't going to walk away without at least a few dozen bruises and scrapes. At least he didn't split his head.

"You guys had some pretty good matches last night," Eva says when they arrive at the monitor.

People wandering by stop and stare for a moment or quickly scurry away, though not without throwing confused glances over their shoulders. It might not be what everyone expected, not by a long shot, but Bray is more than willing to be accommodating of those who don't stand against them and Eva and Rosa have been nothing but courteous since Lila aligned herself with him.

"We do our best when we're given the chance to do so," Bray says, nodding toward her and tipping her a genuine smile. She is Lila's friend, as well.

Lila grins and bumps Eva lightly with her elbow. "They had a good match tonight, too."

"So what's going to happen with the tag belts?" Rosa asks, glancing up from a commercial.

"The Ascension, probably," Lila muses. "Have you seen them on NXT? I predict they show up."

Eva cocks her head at her. "I thought they have the NXT tag belts, though."

"Didn't stop Paige from taking AJ's belt," Lila points out, and Eva hums thoughtfully. "They'll probably drop at this month's tapings or something. Or win here and give up the NXT belts."

Bray chuckles softly, sobering when all three girls look to him in question. "Those two boys are very dark. They remind me of a certain pair of brothers who used to form a team together."

"That's probably why they have their gimmick," Eva says, nodding up at him.

"They had that even with Kenneth Cameron," Rosa adds. "Remember him? The British guy?"

Lila sighs. "I _loved_ Cameron. He's wrestling on Thursday nights now. He's still fabulous."

"Maybe we should sit down and watch him together some night," Eva suggests, winking at Lila.

Another chuckle leaves Bray's throat as he glances back at his brothers. Rowan, having donned his mask once again, has his expression hidden and while Harper's face is as stoic as ever, it's hard to miss the glint of amusement in his eyes. This is usually the time of night when they head back to their locker room and wait to go home, but spending a few minutes with these three girls isn't a bad way to end the evening. And Lila will be coming back to the hotel with him; Hunter looked more than a little traumatized when he realized Lila had stopped rooming with Eva or Rosa and started rooming with Bray instead. Wisely, though, the man kept his mouth shut and Bray knows he will continue to keep his mouth shut. Hunter might consider himself the boss, but he knows better than to meddle with the affairs of Bray and his family.

"Is it going to be weird?" Eva asks suddenly. "The random cameras in your face and all that?"

Lila shrugs. "Isn't much different than working here and it'll be infrequent, won't it?"

Rosa nods firmly. "Of course. They've made it very clear that they'll only show bits and pieces of us together and they definitely won't go prying into anything with your boys. I asked."

Bray leans his head against Lila's again. "What are you three talking about now?"

"Just checking to make sure the _Total Divas_ crew won't be in our faces too much," Lila explains.

"Since we spend a lot of time with Lila and we're both on the show now, she'll be in bits and pieces," Eva continues. "And Rosa made sure they won't go prodding at you guys or anything."

Rosa clears her throat slightly and smiles up at him. "We know you three prefer your privacy, so just watch for the cameras. Chances are you won't show up on the show very much at all."

"Occasionally, when the cast members hang out with their family and friends, said family and friends end up on bits and pieces of the episodes," Lila says, turning to face him, and he turns to face her in return. "Like when Summer Rae is on the show with Fandango or when they had that segment backstage with Tamina. It won't be often, but when we spend so much time together…"

_It's inevitable._ Bray nods, digesting that information and accepting it. Certainly, when both Eva and Rosa are featured on the show, at least a glimpse or two will be inevitable and he can accept that without a problem. His family won't be forced into the spotlight at any point; their place is in the ring and only in the ring, and he refuses to allow it to venture elsewhere. Simply put, the Wyatt Family shows the world exactly what they need to see and nothing more, and that isn't going to change for ratings or anything else. The company has known better than to push for more so far, and Bray is at least glad of that. The last thing he wants to do is go to war against the company that has, thus far, allowed him to spread his message to the far corners of the world.

But if he has to, of course, he won't hesitate to put them back in their place.

They stand at the monitor a while longer, long enough for the girls to watch AJ Lee regain her championship from Paige before the three of them say their goodbyes for the night, Eva and Rosa heading off toward ostensibly the Divas' locker room. Lila turns and smiles up at him, and Bray turns, leading her and his brothers toward their locker room in the far reaches of the arena. It was time for them to pack up and head home while the main event occurred.

Besides, it was time to reformulate their plans and continue on to brighter horizons and better futures. Just because they didn't win at _Money In The Bank_ didn't mean they would never win, and when their time came, they needed to be prepared to take what belonged to them.

He had been concerned about power prior to the pay-per-view, but perhaps the power he had been searching for, the absolution, has nothing to do with the championship belts at all. After all, the Hartford crowd still sang for him, still flashed the backlights of their cell phones when he and his brothers entered the arena, and they were still fiercely cheered. Perhaps the power he had been looking for had nothing to do with the belts. Maybe he'd found it somewhere closer.

It's something he's been thinking about since the match, though. The fact they didn't win at the pay-per-view seemed to mean nothing to the fans in the audience, and still people wore the mask. Still, people sang for him when he directed them. He had been certain winning the belts would seal his family's hold on their power, but that seems to be sealed just fine the way it is. Maybe, then, something else… _Someone_ else has been the driving force behind all of this. Sister Abigail, of course, but not just her. Not anymore. No, now he has Lila at his side, someone to keep his brothers going in his stead if anything is to happen to him. He doesn't have to lead alone.

Maybe that is the key to their power. In which case, he can't be the only one not alone in this family. His brothers can no longer be alone, either. He makes a mental note to run this by them as soon as they reach the locker room when a dark projectile rockets into him and Lila, making him stumble backward. Harper and Rowan catch him, and it's only then he realizes that the projectile has managed to disconnect him and Lila and that the projectile is, in fact, his little brother. Bray sighs and shakes his head. Some things will never change.

"Lila, I've been looking for you!" Bo says, squishing the poor girl to his chest.

By some miracle, Lila manages to get some space between them and inhales, tilting her head up to look at him. "Well, Bo, you've managed to find me. Why were you looking for me?"

"To welcome you into the family, of course. You're with my brother now, and that's just wonderful." He hugs her tightly again and Bray's pretty sure he hears her yelp, but he's too amused to separate the two of them. "What a happy time this is for the both of you."

She tries to say something but with her face crammed against his chest, it's impossible to hear.

Bo seems to realize this and actually takes a step back. "What was that? I think I missed it."

"I said," Lila says, pausing to take a deep breath, "thank you. I like being a part of your family."

Of course, Bo grins down at her, then lets her go and claps Bray on the shoulder. "And I just wanted to tell the three of you that you may have been defeated—again—at the pay-per-view, but you will win some day. Maybe even as early as next time! All you have to do is Bolieve."

He hurries off, and Harper just turns to stare after him. "That boy is not right, Bray. He's not."

"I know," Bray sighs, turning Lila to face him. "Are you okay? His affection can be abrasive."

"I think I'm okay. Did your parents not hug him as a child? Jesus." Lila shakes herself off, then laughs up at him. "But I guess he's right, isn't he? I'm part of your family now. For real."

Bray nods and takes her back under his arm, directing her toward their locker room. Oh, he and Lila might not be married. They've only been together for a few days. But what they have will last for the rest of eternity and as long as they both draw breath, they will always be a part of each other. He won't cast her away like the so-called father she used to depend on.

Once they reach the locker room and the boys go off to shower, he clears his throat.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about being a part of my family," he says once she glances up at him, watching her expression carefully in the dimness of the room. "And what that means."

Lila slowly lowers herself onto one of the benches and Bray sits across from her, the two of them close enough for their knees to touch. Even if her former family didn't take care of her… Well, that is in the past. And Bray knows just how important that past is to have made her who she is.

When he holds his hands out, she lays hers in them. "I want you to be a part of my family. My brother already adores you, apparently. But then, Bo damn near adores everybody anyway."

"I swear none of you ever hugged that kid when he was little," she tells him solemnly.

He scowls playfully at her. "What makes you think we didn't hug him when he was little? It's possible we did everything right and he still came out… Markedly eccentric."

"Markedly eccentric? Bray, he hugs everybody." She clicks her tongue thoughtfully. "Poor kid on Sunday night, though. Daniel Bryan had no reason to be an asshole to him."

Bray has to stop and shake his head at her, not the least bit surprised she's taking up for his little brother when Bo really had no reason to show up last night. Much as he loves the kid—and Bo is his blood, of course he loves him—he's half-surprised no one has tried to kill the poor kid at this point in time. It's not just that he's won all of his matches and flattened opponents who by all rights had every chance of flattening him, but also that he's so damned two-faced and egotistical without even realizing it. He's bound to get in trouble. But then, that's what Bray is here for.

He clears his throat and levels his gaze with hers once again. "I know your past made you who you are. You learned a lot about what family meant at a very young age. I'm sorry for that."

"I'm not sorry." Lila smiles softly at him. "What I learned was invaluable to me."

He cocks his head at her. "What exactly did you learn growing up in an environment like that?"

"Sometimes blood isn't thicker than water." She squeezes his hand. "Blood isn't always family."

"That's true. I'm glad you've realized that family is more than that," he says, grinning at her.

She giggles softly and nods. "It is. It's actually caring about each other. Like all of us do."

She stands and he shifts back a bit, letting her climb into his lap and wrapping his arms around her, just holding her for a moment and breathing her in. When he first chose her to be his, to join his family and lead at his side, he had all the faith in the world that she would see the truth, the rightness of the two of them being together. The fact that there is evil necessary in this world and that together, the two of them can purge the darkness and make this a better place for everyone. But such a task can't be accomplished alone, and that's something she's taught him.

Which reminds him… "We can't let our boys stay alone. Wouldn't be good for them."

"If you're talking about finding them someone, then I agree." Lila sits up and steals his hat once again, tucking it down over her still-up hair. "And I think I know exactly who they need."

Of course she does; she's probably been thinking about this herself. Once there are six of them as opposed to four, and Harper and Rowan are no longer alone, how will anyone be able to stop them? Their union has already given strength to the family and two more unions will do the same, strengthening the bonds they have with each other and creating new ones. The core of their power will be even stronger then, and nothing in the world will halt their expansion.

"Does this mean we need to find someone for your brother, too?" Lila asks suddenly.

Bray furrows his eyebrows, then sighs heavily. "I suppose it would, unfortunately."

"You know, I love your brother. He's very sweet and I think he means well at least half of the time he gets on the microphone after he wins a match." Lila stops, looking at a loss for words, and that's about right when it comes to Bo. "But I think he's really fucking evil sometimes."

Bray snorts and shakes his head at her, not surprised at all and he himself has to admit that it might not be far off from the truth. Much as he loves his brother, Bo is either truly out of his mind or completely diabolical. Or both. It's very likely he's both given how Bray is; he just lacks the subtlety to do anything but piss the fans off. Or amuse them because they've been a few places now where the people seem to love Bo and actually cheered him as opposed to booed him.

At any rate, it would probably be wrong to leave his little brother alone anyway.

"I'm sure there is someone out there who would appreciate him for either being very sweet or being very, well… Evil," Bray muses, and Lila clicks her tongue, clearly thinking it over.

Then she grins down at him and sifts her fingers through his hair—she's teased him about it being longer than hers. "I know who would be good for Bo. Just let me worry about him."

Bray nods. If there is anyone he trusts with his blood, it's the only woman who understands that family means more than blood. More than forced bonds created by breeding. More than simple ties. Family is complex and dedicated, and in a way, they've both taught each other this concept.

And he's sure they both still have a lot more they'll learn on their journey to absolution. _Together._ Because with Lila, he truly has the whole world in his hands.

**Fin**

* * *

**_A/N: And so concludes the story of Bray and Lila. I'm a bit stunned by the support given to this story, and I hope you will continue to follow me on this journey as I eventually give Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, and the Inspirational Bo Dallas stories of their own. Because family matters, damn it, and I will stiff no one in the long run._**

**_This story was actually quite fun to write and I'm shocked at how long it turned out when I didn't think it would. But I hope you guys truly do like Lila because she will be returning in the other stories._**

**_While you wait for those, why not theorize on who will end up with Harper, Rowan, and Bo? You have an entire roster of choices. And my only hint is that all three of them will end up with someone on the roster._**

**_Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I look forward to seeing you again in the future._**


End file.
